GAME NOTES: The inaugural Emerald Coast Classic continues as the Southern Jaguars battle the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the third round at The Arena on Friday.

Southern dropped to 1-4 on the campaign on Tuesday with a 74-59 loss at Tulane. The setback was the third in a row for the Jaguars, who are coming off of a 19-13 performance in the 2013-14 season, which they began with just three wins through their first 12 outings. Coach Roman Banks has watched his squad get outscored by an average of 12.4 ppg through the first five games this year. Southern is ranked seven in the SWAC in scoring offense (59.4 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense with an allowance of 71.8 ppg.

NAU has been outscored by an average of 8.6 ppg on its way to an identical 1-4 record. All four of the Lumberjacks' losses occurred in true road games at Xavier (93-60), Toledo (71-58), Ole Miss (80-74) and Middle Tennessee (63-53). The Lumberjacks' lone win came courtesy of a 73-52 rout of Fresno State at home on Nov. 20. Coach Jack Murphy's team is posting only 63.6 ppg to place ninth in the Big Sky Conference rankings. NAU is also sitting at ninth in the conference in scoring defense having surrendered 361 points in five games (72.2 ppg).

This will be the first meeting between Southern and NAU on the hardwood.

In the Jaguars' loss to Tulane, Trelun Banks paced the team in the scoring column with 15 points, but was also credited with five of the team's 14 turnovers. Cameron Monroe added 11 points and Joell Hopkins had 10 points. Southern was outrebounded, 36-29, by the Green Wave, who managed to draw enough fouls to attempt 37 shots at the charity stripe. Banks is netting a team-high 8.8 ppg on just 34.3 percent efficiency from the floor. Adrian Rodgers is hitting on only 25.6 percent of his field goal attempts to post a second-best 8.3 ppg.

The Lumberjacks went into halftime of their tilt versus Middle Tennessee tied with the Blue Raiders, 26-26. NAU could not keep up after the break. Middle Tennessee took control after the intermission, as it knocked down 5-of-8 tries from 3-point range and outscored the Lumberjacks, 8-3, at the free-throw line. The Lumberjacks shot just 35.7 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes of the contest. Kris Yanku led NAU with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Aaseem Dixon netted 11 points, Jaleni Neely chipped in 10 points and Gaellan Bewernick registered a team-best 10 boards in the losing effort. Quinton Upshur, who is scoring a team-high 13.6 ppg, was limited to just seven points on 3-of-12 efficiency from the floor.

Although its record indicates a poor performance, NAU has been competitive through its first five games against some notable opponents. The Lumberjacks could be a dangerous team if they figure out how to put together a full 40 minutes. Southern's offensive woes will need to be resolved before it will stand a chance to defeat a Division I opponent.